Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 11th September, 2020.

 Readings: 1Cor 9:16-19.22-27, Ps.84, Luke: 6: 39-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

TAKE AWAY THE LOG OF PRIDE IN YOUR EYES SO THAT YOU CAN HUMBLY REMOVE THE SPECK OF WEAKNESS IN OTHERS

As humans we are quick to always criticize and condemn other people. We are good in seeing people's faults and mistakes. But has it ever occurred to us that, while we are condemning other persons for their faults, and suddenly we realized that our own faults are just as many as theirs? It is this ugly attitude that Jesus is addressing today in the gospel passage, when he said: Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? Why do you observe the speck in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye. 

Here Jesus is referring to the blindness from the truth which the Pharisees and the Scribes and indeed most of us and our so called leaders today have decided to embrace as we have neglected the spirituality behind the natural human traditions and laws, to follow the may ritual and routing traditions and laws we have created out of our own selfish desires. For leaders who have the responsibility to lead, guide and teach the people have decided to embrace darkness and falsehood. And the greed, jealousy and wickedness in our hearts have blindfolded us and made us to become blind leaders of the blind. 

Hence, Jesus told us how we have failed to see the plank in our eyes while seeking to remove the speck in other's. But what is this plank in our eyes? It is the plank of pride. Pride makes us to forget who we are and claim who we are not. Pride makes us to look down on people. Pride makes us blind. It makes us not to look into our own live. Little wonder pride is the first capital sin. 

Therefore, we are called to humbly look into our lives and identify all those ugly attitudes of pride in us and get rid of them, so that we can humbly correct and accommodate other people’s speck of faults and weakness. Just like St. Paul in our first reading, who though not a slave of any man, made himself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as he could. For the weak he made himself weak. He made himself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost for the sake of the gospel and to share in its blessings.

Dear friends, do we know people who behave like blind leaders of the blind? Are we one of such leaders? We are called today to constantly examine our conscience to know what kind of leader we are in any capacity we find ourselves. We are called to take away our log of pride in order to humbly remove or accommodate the speck of faults and weaknesses in others. So let us cultivate the right disposition of heart that will make us to be visionary leaders, leading those entrusted to us safely towards the path of truth and eternal life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, there are so many blind leaders in our world today who out of pride are leading humanity into destruction and death, help us to realize that we need to take away the log of pride that makes us blind in order to humbly remove and accommodate the faults and weakness of others thereby leading them to the path of truth and eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.